The calculator works by capturing carbon-related data from every financial transaction in the business, such as electricity accounts or travel expenses, and then references government guidelines to work out how much carbon is being produced.

The software keeps a running total of a company's carbon emissions expressed in kilograms or tons and includes reporting functionality to identify what activities are contributing most to the organisation's carbon footprint.

Alastair O'Reilly, managing director for Access Technology Group, said, "Using the system, we were able to see that as much as 20% of our carbon footprint last year was generated by just two events that involved flights for staff and resellers."

The software supplier launched the carbon emissions module as a standard and integrated part of its Dimensions accounting package at the Softworld Exhibition 2008 in London last week.

The module is aimed at attracting customers with a green agenda, but is also available as an update to existing customers to enable them to calculate their carbon score retrospectively.

Healeys Printers' carbon initiative will complement its programme to achieve certification in terms of the ISO 14001 environmental standard by May 2008.

Phillip Dodd, managing director of Healeys Printers, said that although the ISO standard established environmental credentials, it did not enable continual improvement.

"This software provides a tool to measure our carbon emissions and set annual targets for reducing those levels without the expense of getting involved with external consultants and assessors," he said.

As a standard part of an accounting software package, Dodd said the carbon module would enable smaller companies that could not afford the ISO certification to demonstrate environmental commitment without extra expense.

John Beech, managing director for Access Accounting, said there was a growing financial as well as moral imperative to reduce carbon emissions.

"Increasingly taxes are being levied on high carbon emitting activities, so the ability to manage them down makes financial sense," he said.

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